Discovery Park to host workshops for NSF 2026 Idea Machine competition

Discovery Park will host two workshops for Purdue faculty and staff to help shape responses to the NSF 2026 Idea Machine competition, a prize competition to help set the U.S. agenda for fundamental research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and STEM education.

The National Science Foundation, which officially announced the program Aug. 30, will accept proposals through Oct. 26.  Purdue's facilitated workshops will provide an opportunity for faculty and staff to come together, express and discuss ideas, and team up across campus in ways that may open up new vistas and/or strengthen individual ideas.

Although winning a 2026 Idea Machine award will not result in direct NSF project funding for the idea, Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, chief scientist and executive director of Discovery Park, says, “I believe that by participating successfully in this event, Purdue University may be able to position itself in such a way to help launch future NSF programs that align well with the strengths and interests of our faculty and staff.”

A submission to the Idea Machine should be ambitious, deeply interdisciplinary and reach across the priorities of multiple NSF directorates. It should be an idea that contributes to NSF's mission to support basic research in a way that fuels the nation's economy, enhances its security, and sustains U.S. global leadership in science and engineering. Progress toward addressing research in that area should have a significant impact on science and society.

Michael Ledford of Lewis-Burke and Associates in Washington, D.C., will attend the workshops and provide insights into NSF priorities and how they align with the 2026 Ideas Machine process.

The dates and times for these workshops are listed below. Seating is limited, so faculty and staff should register via the Qualtrics links on the appropriate date. 

* Sept. 14: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Grissom Hall, Room 103.
* Sept. 18: 3-5 p.m. Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121.

The Sept. 18 workshop will be livestreamed. The link will be provided closer to the workshop date.

Full details of the NSF 2026 Idea Machine can be found here. For more information, contact Cliff Wojtalewicz, assistant director of Discovery Park, at cliffw@purdue.edu or 765-496-3961.

About Discovery Park
Discovery Park is a place where Purdue researchers move beyond traditional boundaries, collaborating across disciplines and with policymakers and business leaders to create solutions for a better world. Grand challenges of global health, global conflict and security, and those that lie at the nexus of sustainable energy, world food supply, water and the environment are the focus of researchers in Discovery Park. The translation of discovery to impact is integrated into the fabric of Discovery Park through entrepreneurship programs and partnerships.